ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Glottochronology

Glottochronology is a way that scientists can try to figure out how different languages developed. It works by comparing two languages to see how much of the words in both of them are the same. If the same words appear in both languages, scientists can estimate how long ago the two languages might have come from a common ancestor. This is helpful for learning about the different types of languages spoken throughout history and how they have changed over time.